Bill Cosby Permitted to Sue His Rape Accuser over Tweets

On Monday, Bill Cosby’songoing court drama, stemming from the nearly 60 women accusing him of sexually assaulting them, grew even more complicated.

After filing a civil lawsuit against Andrea Constand—whose actions inspired tens of other women to come forward with similar stories—a Pennsylvania federal judge gave Cosby permission to go forward in suing both Constand and The National Enquirer, both of whom Cosby’s legal team claim violated terms of a confidentiality provision in a 2006 settlement agreement.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the judge is allowing Cosby to move forward with his claim that two tweets Constand published in 2014 potentially violate her agreement to refrain “from disclosing any aspect of her prior litigation against Cosby.”

The tweets in question are, “I won't go away, there is a lot more I will say” and “It’s not that everybody just forgot about it, truth is nobody cared.” Although Constand’s legal team points out that Cosby is not explicitly named in the social-media posts, the judge ruled that “a statement can be a reference to an individual or situation even if it does not explicitly say so.” He continued, “Whether the tweets were in fact references to Cosby—and, if so, whether Constand breached the CSA by tweeting them—are questions to be answered at a later stage.”

The judge dismissed another charge Cosby made against Constand, her mother, and her lawyers, however, alleging that she violated the confidentiality agreement by speaking to law enforcement. Per The Hollywood Reporter, “the judge agrees with [Constand’s lawyers] that such confidentiality is unenforceable because it violates public policy by purporting to prevent individuals from providing information concerning alleged criminal conduct.”

Cosby, 78, has been charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting the former Temple University employee at Cosby’s Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, mansion in 2004.

For Vanity Fair’s August issue, Mark Seal investigated Constand’s case, with the piece referring to her as “the one accuser who may finally bring Bill Cosby down for good.”